Mixed order in HPS NC

[bwv]

The French mixed order of one battalion in line and 2 in column - would that three units in one hex or the column battalions in flanking hexes to the line unit?

also is there any difference in movement cost, chance of disruption for a unit changing to square from column vs. square from line formation?

[agmoss99]

Mixed Order - not sure I understand the question but mixing line and column in a hex means disordered units.

Movement cost to square is the same for column or line.

[bwv]

The mixed order formation was a combination of column and line infantry to balance the firepower of the line with the melee and calvary defense of the column

I think I answered my own question

some more research indicates that there were any number of permutations and variants, of the strategy, such as this divisional formation

[jonnymacbrown]

The problem is if you play the optional rule that possibly disorders a line battalion that moves (line movement restriction). The higher the quality of the battalion the better chance it has of movement without disorder. This optional rule does give a measure of historical realism so I always like to play with it on, and this makes an ordre' mixte' advance somewhat problematical. However, you can always just leave the line battalions to fall behind and continue the column assault. The command structure of the French Army is so good that they will probably reorder next turn. jonny :smoke:

[FM WarB]

L'ordre mixte looks nice in diagrams but is tricky to use in the game. It sometimes seems that routing units seek out friendly troops in different formation so they can disorder them.

[agmoss99]

L'ordre mixte looks nice in diagrams but is tricky to use in the game. It sometimes seems that routing units seek out friendly troops in different formation so they can disorder them.

Hehe - my experiences exactly!

[jonnymacbrown]

"L'ordre mixte looks nice in diagrams but is tricky to use in the game. It sometimes seems that routing units seek out friendly troops in different formation so they can disorder them."
Hehe - my experiences exactly!

As I recall, when a line unit routs it routs as a column. So in the Ordre' Mixte' if you keep your lines in the centre for firepower, and protect their flanks with column, any routing line formations will not disorder anyone. Those problems usually occur when columns and cav rout into line formations. jonny :whis:

[FM WarB]

True. Do not have units in line behind other friendly infantry to be safe. Routing infantry and cavalry do have a fatal attraction for units of the other type!

[jonnymacbrown]

I would say l' ordre' mixte' is a good idea and the last few times I've played Napoleonics I've used it. I think it's important to rely upon firepower but having units in column nearby can be a big help, primarily because unlike in Pz.C games a unit does not need sufficient movements points in order to engage in melee. All 'ya need to do it get there and launch the assault. If you've got 10mps to get to a hex and use all 10 getting there, well no problem, put the big hurt on the opponent, and with some big Guard units you can. This is one of the major problems with HPS Napoleonics and I don't know why we can't have the same system in place that PzC does. The fact that you can melee assault any hex you can reach gives the offense too much power and creates unrealistic situations. Tiller did a good job re-ordering the cavalry charge phase to the beginning of the turn but he's frying a lot of fish and for whetever reason there's no one available to correct major problems in game mechanics like this one. jonny :conf:

[jonnymacbrown]

"If you've got 10mps to get to a hex and use all 10 getting there, well no problem, put the big hurt on the opponent, and with some big Guard units you can."

To expound upon this problem a bit more: With the current melee system, anywhere there is a road or clear terrain, an infantry unit can exert a cavalry-like charge of anywhere between 500 to 1000 yards by using its full movement allotment and then assaulting the enemy-held hex. In effect, this makes every army almost entirely a cavalry army. We play with this because it is what we've got, it's all we've got, and it's the best thing out there if you want to play turn based games. But it's ridiculous. jonny:(